2020 Volume 63 Issue 4 Pages 280-286
Objective: The purpose of this study was to establish a treatment for allergic rhinitis by wearing a mouthguard (MG), by clarifying the correlation between salivary properties and allergic symptoms. In this study, a MG, which was found to have the effect of increasing saliva flow rate, was used for SAR patients and healthy subjects, and saliva properties were analyzed using saliva before and after wearing a MG.
Method: From among patients who visited the Kanagawa Dental University Hospital, 24 SAR patients and 7 non-allergic healthy controls were enrolled. Allergic rhinitis symptoms (3TNSS), salivary flow rate, and biological properties of saliva before and after wearing a MG were examined. The biological salivary properties were analyzed based on seven items: cariogenic bacteria, pH value, acid buffer capacity, occult blood concentration, relative number of white blood cells, protein concentration, and ammonia production by multi-item saliva test.
Results: The 3TNSS score was significantly decreased and the symptoms were improved in SAR patients with MG. The salivary flow of SAR patients was significantly lower than that in healthy subjects, whereas the salivary flow of SAR with MG was significantly increased. The multi-item saliva test of SAR patients showed a significant increase in cariogenic bacteria, acid buffering capacity, and ammonia production, but a significant decrease in pH, occult blood, leukocyte count, and protein concentration, compared with healthy subjects. In SAR patients, only occult blood decreased after wearing a MG; the other test items did not change.
Conclusion: Allergic rhinitis was found to be improved in SAR patients by wearing a MG. Salivary secretion was involved in symptom improvement, and the effect of saliva properties was hardly observed.
